


Under the Mistletoe

by The_Knightmare



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Tumblr: pacrimsecretsanta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 13:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2852474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Knightmare/pseuds/The_Knightmare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Walking into the lab after the fake summons to the Marshall’s office, Hermann stopped in his tracks. The entire lab had been decorated. Lights were strung over the Kaiju specimen tanks, a crudely drawn tree was on one of his chalk boards, paper snowflakes had been taped to the walls, and mistletoe hung above his head. And above the emergency exits, and above his desk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raleighpuppy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raleighpuppy/gifts).



_‘Twas the night before Christmas_   
_And all through the Shatterdome_

“What happened to all my chalk, Newton?” Dr. Gottlieb asked calmly. From experience, Mako knew that he was extremely angry. No one could escape his wrath, not even Mako with his favourite German chocolate.

“I figured you could use some holiday cheer, Herms. So, I replaced them with candy canes. Oh, and I decorated your cane to match.”

“He’s screwed” Chuck said, Mako nodded her agreement.

_The peace that had settled like snow_   
_Had been replaced by cheap shots and low blows_

“You did what? Need I remind you that defiling a person’s propriety is wrong? Or are you too busy being childish again. Honestly, you should have been fired a long time ago, you Kaiju groupie!”

“Then who would find actual useful information on the Kaiju and their weaknesses? Certainly not you; too busy with your precious numbers to care if they can regenerate limbs or spit acid!” There’s no stopping them now Mako thought, watching the two take up the argument with a vicious passion.

“Thought you said they’re secretly married or something” Raleigh said, coming up behind Mako and Chuck, “and Pentecost wants up in LOCCENT in ten minutes, Mako.”

“An old, bickering, married couple. They just to get their heads out of their asses and figure it out.”

_But in one creature mischief stirred_   
_And enthusiastically let their thoughts be heard_

“Chuck, that’s a brilliant idea,” Mako said enthusiastically “We could decorate the lab-”

“And fill it with mistletoe.” Chuck added.

“How are you two going to do that exactly?” Raleigh asked, eyebrows raised.

“With your help. You aren’t getting out of this one, mate.”

“And why would I do that? Sure, Dr. Gottlieb is alright, but Geislzer and I didn’t exactly hit it off.” Raleigh may have had a point, but the look on Chuck’s face told her that he had a way of persuading him.

Sure enough, all Chuck had to do was whisper something in Raleigh’s ear and he was agreeing. “It’s the least I could do, helping my two favourite people play match maker.” Mako couldn’t help smiling at her boys’ ridiculousness.

“Good, you can convince Tendo to give us a few decorations and lights. I will ask the Wei’s for help with the decorating, and Chuck can come up with a distraction.”

“Alright, we’ll start tonight, but for now we need to get up to LOCCENT.”

_As they observed not only one pair but two_   
_Fight until their faces were blue_

“Miss Mori, Mister Beckett, I hope my request to meet didn’t interrupt anything? It better have been something important to be ten minutes late.” The K-Scientists weren’t the only ones in a bad mood that day. Both Stacker Pentecost and Herc Hansen looked agitated.

“I’m sorry, Marshall. We got distracted by-”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Mr. Beckett. Now, how many times have you two been practicing in the kwoon? Piloting a Jaeger takes more than a few sessions in the kwoon.”

“Would you give them a break, Stacker? They’re compatible, Raleigh’s experienced, and Mako is one of the best we have.”

“Regardless, if they want to continue to pilot together, they must be able to fight and endure. We have lost too many already because they were not ready to take on the Kaiju.”

“They aren’t rookies, they can handle themselves.”

“That is the attitude that has diminished the Jaeger Program to four teams, Herc.” Mako was beginning to think that this is the kind of argument that happened behind closed doors. She knew that they were old friends, but they always a little more formal.

Seems like it’s not just Geislzer and Gottlieb that need a push.

It took a moment for Mako to realise that it was Raleigh’s thought that had slipped into her mind, and not her own. She raised her brow in question, and Raleigh made a motion that said include them in the plan.

_But Mako; how clever was she_   
_Thought up a plan even Tendo would envy_

That evening, the three of them plotted. Tendo wanted in, he had been waiting for the two oblivious pairs to resolve whatever tension was between them for years. Chuck had decided that a fake summons to Pentecost’s office would distract the two K-scientists for a while, and night would be the best opportunity at decorating his office.

“Alright, and if we aren’t finished with the lab when they realise something’s up?”

“That’s where I come in, Beckett boy. I convince them to spare a moment to talk. Mention something about Dr. Who or Star Trek. Maybe both. That will definitely get them out of your hair for at least an hour.” Tendo said, clapping Raleigh on the shoulder, “I got two boxes of mistletoe, and some lights you can string up.”

“Thanks, Tendo.”

“No problem, anything to see those two idiots finally get together.”

_Borrowing a ladder and nails_   
_They stuck up sprigs of leaves by their tails_

The next morning their plan was set into motion. As soon as the Doctors rounded the corner, Mako, Raleigh, and Chuck hauled the boxes of mistletoe and lights into the lab.

“Why does Tendo have two boxes of this stuff?” Chuck asked, hanging the first bunch over the entrance.

“He’s the one who gets the most amusement out of watching people kiss under them, that’s why. Back in Anchorage, every door had one. Even the bunks. One day they’d just appear. No one was safe; one time Yance and I ended up under one. He still mentions it every so often.” Raleigh said, stringing lights over the specimen tanks. “How many of these should we put up, Mako?”

“Completely over the main doors, one over the emergency exit, and one over Dr. Gottlieb’s desk.”

“Why so many?”

“Lots of excuses for kissing.” Chuck said, placing the last of the mistletoe over the exits.

“Why don’t we test that theory, Hansen?” Raleigh said, looking at Chuck in a fairly suggestive manner.

“Once we’ve finished, Beckett. We still got Pentecost’s office to decorate.” Mako sighed in relief, as much as she loved her boys a PDA session wasn’t something she needed right now.

_All done by the night_   
_And how they marvelled at the sight_

They finish with the decorating that night, Chuck deciding that they had to decorate the rest of the Shatterdome. (We can’t just leave the rest of the place empty, guys.) Then all that is left for Mako to do is sit back and hope her plan works.

Walking into the lab after the fake summons to the Marshall’s office, Hermann stopped in his tracks. The entire lab had been decorated. Lights were strung over the Kaiju specimen tanks, a crudely drawn tree was on one of his chalk boards, paper snowflakes had been taped to the walls, and mistletoe hung above his head. And above the emergency exits, and above his desk.

By the time he had taken it all in, Newton had returned from whatever errand that had made him run out of the lab mere minutes before Hermann’s summons.

“You did this, didn’t you?” He asked, all the anger from before drained form his voice.

“No. I swear, dude. This time wasn’t me. I left before you, and only just got back-”

“Well, even if it wasn’t you, it’s still nice.” Hermann said, starting towards his side of the lab.

“Whoa, wait, Hermann. You…ah forgot something.”

“What now, Geiszler?” Looking to where Newton was pointing, Hermann felt his ears burn. “No, no, absolutely not. I refuse to participate in a ridiculous tradition. I do not even celebrate Christmas.”

While kissing Newton was something he had thought about, Hermann would rather it be because of a mutual attraction, and not a sense of compulsion.

“Oh, come on, man! This tradition goes back to the Celts and Norse; it originated with the pagans, so not strictly Christian. Don’t be such a Grinch. Deep down you know you want to kiss me.”

Huffing, Hermann spun on his heel and pecked the other man on the lips. Stunned by the sudden contact, Newton didn’t respond for half a second before taking the opportunity to place a hand on the back of Hermann’s neck and deepened the kiss.

Pulling away, Herman began to apologize for his earlier outburst, but Newton shushed him. “It’s okay, I kinda deserved it anyway. I’ll give you back your chalk, it’s hidden in my desk.”

“No, it’s fine. The next attack is not predicted until next month, and we all need a break.” Hermann said.

“Oh, well, okay then. Would you like to go to get dinner together? The cafeteria is making a turkey dinner for the holidays and as appetizing the sandwiches in the back of the fridge are, I don’t want to pass up the opportunity for real, unprocessed meat.” Newton had begun to fidget, and looked anywhere but at him as he spoke.

A swell of affection coursed through Hermann at the familiar nervous gestures. He almost couldn’t help the tug of his lips as he said: “Yes, Newton. I think that would be delightful.”

* * *

 

Stacker Pentecost had not dismissed Hermann Gottlieb for two minutes when Herc burst through the door with Chuck in tow.

“You wanted to see us, Stacker?”

“This is the second time today someone has thought I needed to see them without my actually summoning them.” Stacker had patience, knew that lashing out because of circumstance didn’t help, but couldn’t help letting his irritation show around the one person who didn’t expect him to be perfect.

“Well, if I’m not needed here, I’m going to go find Max. Take him for a walk or something.” Chuck said, “See you later, Dad, and you might want to look up.” Stacker stared at the retreating figure before turning his attention back to Herc, who stared at the ceiling with a red face.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, but all Herc did was point up. Following, Stacker found rows of mistletoe strewn across his ceiling. Before he could open his to say anything, Herc began to speak.

“We don’t have to do anything, there’s no one here to see anyway. I’ll make Chuck not say anything about this, hell, I’ll help you take it all down. If you want.”

“You’re right, no is here to see.” Stacker said, as he stepped towards Herc. “And, no, we don’t have to do anything, but tradition is tradition.”

“What do you mean-” Herc said, but was cut off by Stacker’s lips on his. It was a chaste kiss, nothing touching but their lips. Just as Stacker pulled away Herc grabbed him by the collar.

“I’ve waited too long to do this to waste an opportunity like this.” He growled, taking Stacker’s lips in for a second kiss. This time there was more touching.

A Christmas miracle born unto them

That evening, Mako kept looking at the two couples. Newton and Dr. Gottlieb had come in first. The latter leaning on the former more than usual. The pair smiled and joked with each other, banter exchanged in fond, affectionate tones.

Sensei and Herc arrived later, looking ruffled, but happier and more relaxed than they had been in a while.

“Seems like our plan worked alright.” Chuck said, after getting his second plateful of turkey. “Dad and Stacker look very satisfied with each other.”

Mako crinkled her nose at the thought, and busied herself with stealing the Christmas chocolates off Raleigh’s tray.

“So, Hansen, ready to test that theory? Or have you not saved enough room for desert?” Raleigh said.

“Oh, I have enough room. It’s you that needs to save space, Beckett.”

Mako, having successfully stolen the chocolate said, “As long you do it in Chuck’s room. I don’t want to have a repeat of what happened last time.”

“Sure thing, just don’t wait up eating all the chocolates. We’d like some too.” Raleigh said, taking his stolen chocolate back.

_And as Mako lay between her boys that night_   
_Knowing no one would be alone on this cold winters night_   
_Wished a Happy Holidays to all_   
_And a Kaiju free New Year._


End file.
